HalfLife
by Hellsfirescythe
Summary: [postmovie SPOILERS]...Reawakening Jazz with the remaining piece of the Allspark had been the easy part. Dealing with its consequences and the aftermath of Mission City would open a whole new can of worms.
1. BreakDown

Title: Half-Life  
Author: Darkfireblade aka Hellsfirescythe  
Fandom: Transformers 2007 movie  
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language  
Characters/Pairings: Jazz, Ensemble  
Summary: Re-awakening Jazz with the remaining piece of the Allspark had been the easy part. Dealing with its consequences and the aftermath of Mission City would open a whole new can of worms.  
Notes/Warnings: post-movie, contains spoilers.

* * *

**Chapter One: Break-Down**

Space didn't have anything on the void that he hung in.

It was empty here, cold...and silent. Even in the far reaches of space he had the forever bright pinpricks of stars in his vision or the comforting warmth of a thrumming engine. Even on the most silent of days, at least there was the constant buzz of static in his comm just waiting to be broken.

For a moment, he could almost hear -no feel- the pulsing bass from a faraway radio. But that disappeared just as quickly as it came with no time for him to even fully register the phenomenon.

What seemed like and what could have been an eternity stretched on. He couldn't move a nano-meter. Not a finger. Frozen still.

Finally, something broke through: laughter, a cold, cruel laughter. A laugh that sent shivers rushing helter-skelter over his relays. Silence was almost preferable.

Then its source appeared: Megatron in all his spark-wrenching glory. The terrible laugh magnified and rebounding, filled the once empty void, reverberating off its victim's surface. The oily, bitter taste of fear roiled through his senses. The whole world shook as Megatron's thundering steps brought the terror closer and closer. Suspended, he watched as the tyrant closed the distance between them in one flying leap, claw-like hands ready to strike and all he knew was bathed in a hellish red glow and one great roar.

**"Show me your strength, Autobot Jazz!"  
**

* * *

**  
**

_Autobot Headquarters, outskirts of Tranquility, Nevada_

"Jazz!"

The whine of charging weapons and whoosh of rushed hydraulics, both lacking visuals, reminded the lieutenant to power up his optic sensors. What fritzed into his vision was the familiar, resigned scowl of Ratchet's face inches away from the glowing edge of Jazz's arm cannons. Air cycled rapidly through the partially-rebuilt Solstice's chassis and a few tension-filled moments stretched out between the two before the charging whine faded away.

Large hands pushed firmly and gently until Jazz found himself staring up at the sheet metal ceiling of the OR. Six hundred and thirty-four rivets were in that one ceiling. Ratchet had grunted in feigned interest when Jazz informed him of that fact a day ago. It wasn't that the medic was ignoring him; Ratchet had more important things to worry about: like how to connect this wire with that wire without fragging up the connection of all the other wires and the circuit boards beneath. Oh yeah, how about avoiding all of Jazz's sensory clusters at the same time?

One answer to that was temporary off-lining, but...

"Nightmares?"

Jazz didn't answer, settling instead to finding a more comfortable position on the cold metal slab that was the operating berth. He hated shut-downs. Recharge was one thing, but off-lining altogether, that was something Jazz would rather avoid. That's reason number one why Ratchet grimaces whenever Jazz shows up in his medical ward for major repairs. It takes a lot to coerce the lieutenant into voluntary shut-down.

"Will you tell me what's bothering you? Or do I have to pry it out with myself?"

Despite the gruff words, Ratchet's voice was surprisingly gentle and understanding. One doesn't watch over the same patients for millions of years without learning something. Ratchet knew most of Jazz's well-hidden quirks, just as the medic knew most of all the others'.

"Megatron's big ugly mug." answered Jazz, reverting to the street talk he picked up during his few waking moments on Earth's surface. It was comforting, in a way, to speak of something so personal in such an impersonal way.

Ratchet nodded before flipping down a face mask to continue soldering away at Jazz's frame. The smaller mech twitched whenever the soldering iron got a bit too close to a sensory cluster for his liking. But he didn't say a word and Ratchet worked in silence. A quiet agreement that perhaps Jazz should remain online for the rest of the procedure.

"You can activate your radio, you know? I just fixed the last of it." grunted Ratchet, not looking up from his work.

"You an' I, Ratch? We on the same wavelength." chuckled Jazz, attempting to lighten the heavy mood that had settled over the both of them as he skimmed through Earth's numerous stations.

The medic's head tweaked to a side, copying the human motion of eye rolling. "Oh goody."

Both of them fell silent again, listening quietly to the melancholy strains of blues that drifted lazily from Jazz's stereos, peppered by the crackle and flash of a soldering iron.

o00o

On the other side of the one-way looking glass that separated the operating room from the rest of the med bay, two individuals observed in relative silence. One in compete fascination and the other in mute appreciation. The still was broken by a exclamation of surprise from one Sam Witwicky.

"He's alive?!" the human teen whipped around to stare at his large counterpart. "Jazz is alive? Bee speak to me here!" Sam's finger jabbed insistently against the window pane, his gaping causing the boy to have a great resemblance to a particular sort of Earth aquatic vertebrates. _Fish_, supplied the spy's memory banks.

"Yeah," Bumblebee replied back.

"Yeah? Don't 'yeah' me, Bee." sputtered Sam, looking more and more flustered. "Last time I saw him, he looked like a burnt out toaster oven torn in half. Now you're telling me he's somehow, magically, come back to life?"

The Camaro nodded as if accepting such a fact were a natural thing. When Sam did nothing but return to looking like fish, Bumblebee squatted down so he and his companion were eye-to-eye.

"You gotta explain this to me, man." Sam gestured to his head rapidly with shaking fingers. "You see this? I don't have any fancy internet connection on me. So if you all went and found some obscure sort of zombie voodoo to bring him back, I wouldn't kn-"

"The Allspark, it was the Allspark." corrected Bumblebee with a hint of chiding in his voice. Comparing the power of the Allspark to the obscure methods of voodoo was like comparing Sam's human religion to cheap party tricks. But Sam was only human, so the spy let the comparison slide.

"I thought the Allspark was destroyed!" Sam's voice cracked in the middle of his sentence, it went ignored by both parties. "I destroyed it. I shoved it up Megatron's hulking chest!"

Bumblebee shook his head and reached to fiddle with a couple of controls on his helm. Blue optics took on a piecing glow before beams like laser shot out. Sam's eyes widened when he recognized the jagged piece of the Allspark being projected into the air.

"So...I take it that the thing still works." said Sam, more to himself than to his companion. Bumblebee nodded anyways. "So much for destroying the cube. Guess it's a good thing for you guys though, 'specially Jazz."

"Especially Jazz," echoed Bumblebee.

"This was your big surprise?" asked Sam. Once again he was answered by a nod. A long exhalation was expelled from Sam that Bumblebee categorized as a sigh. "Pretty big surprise alright." murmured Sam, turning back to stare at Jazz's reclined form. A disbelieving chuckle escaped from the teen's lips and he glanced back at Bumblebee, a smile dancing lightly across his blunt features. "I'm happy for all you guys, Bee."

A appreciative noise trilled out of Bumblebee's vocoder and his large hand enveloped Sam's shoulders. "Curfew, Sam."

The teen snorted and followed his car's lead. "Yeah, I'm sure mom will totally accept that excuse that I was touring you guys' new base." Sam paused for a moment in his steps to lean against the cool metallic wall of the med-bay. Bumblebee glanced down, his concern shown so clearly in those alien blue eyes. "S'okay, just a little tired. Between you Autobots, my parents, and Mikaela, there's just no rest for me, isn't there?"

Bumblebee's answer came in the form of scooping Sam up in his hands. The teen laughed and settled down comfortably in the grip of his guardian as they left the med-bay and its occupants behind.

o00o

"Mmm lookin' fine, if I do say so myself."

"You do say and you have been for the past half hour. Keep it up and I might be reminded of a certain front-line warrior back on Cybertron."

Jazz glanced back in mock offense from admiring his reflection in the med-bay window. The target of his look smirking knowingly while clearing the last of the paint equipment away. Fluidly, Jazz wound his way around a couple of berths and located himself quite contentedly on a counter facing the green mech that he'd spent all of his waking moments with since...well, his waking up back in this world again.

The Solstice feigned a look of hurt as he swung around to get a closer look at the larger mech. "You've got a heart of stone, Ratch."

"I wasn't aware that I even possessed one," Ratchet replied dryly. "Now hurry up and get out of here. I've got a hard enough time dealing with all of these fumes with you hovering around. Go inflict your new looks on someone else."

"Advice made note and taken advantage of, big guy." said Jazz as he hopped off the counter and breezed out of the room.

Ratchet looked up from his sterilizing, mouth set in a rigid profile. "I swear he gives me more trouble than Ironhide on a bad day." What could be called a smile by Autobot standards crawls onto his face and he finished wiping the area down with a practiced ease just as his sensors picked up the vibrations of a large familiar form making its way down the outside halls.

Lumbering black from fixed precisely in his mind, Ratchet turned from his work place and was out of the med-bay in seconds. It was a place he'd rather not have to return to for a long while if things when his way. Then again, things rarely did.

Out cruising the streets, music blaring from his sound-system, Jazz didn't have a care in the world. He'd have to thank the human creator of tinted windows if he ever found the individual. As far as any humans could tell, all there was rocking down the streets of Tranquility, was a sleek new Pontiac Solstice. What a car like that was doing with racing numbers and stripes was beyond them. Their thoughts didn't matter much to Jazz, all that mattered at the moment was head-turning attention he was receiving as he maneuvered his way around town.

Being in disguise didn't necessarily mean blending in.

A timid knock on his driver's side door brought Jazz out of his thoughts. The window rolled down revealing a gaggle of teenage girls. Out of the driver's seat a slick-dressed, dark-hued young man smiled charmingly back. "What can I do for you ladies?"

There was a titter of whispers and Jazz wondered briefly if all human females were so flighty. An image of Mikaela surfaced in his HUV and he dismissed the thought. Not all human females then, just these.

_[No, all humans. Disgusting..._

Where did that come from?

"Could you give us the date?" asked one girl, obviously the ringleader of the group. Her artificially coy inquiry gave Jazz no time to ponder the stray thought further.

The young man behind the wheel made a show of checking his watch as Jazz looked into his chronometer. Minutes later, the girls left, their adolescent voices buzzing through the air with the last calls of "Nice car, mister!" wafting back at him, their agenda accomplished.

That left Jazz idling at the side of the street, still observing his time-piece.

One month. It's been one month since his demise at the hands of Megatron. Three days since he on-lined to the sight of his half-built chassis, Bumblebee's relieved welcomes, Ironhide's satisfied grunt, and the accomplished expression written all across Ratchet's face. Prime had stood in the background, being his usual calm self before coming forward and clapping Jazz firmly on the shoulder.

_"Welcome back, Jazz."_

A cacophony of honks alerted Jazz that he had prolonged his stay at the intersection.

"Move it will you? Bastard!" screamed one male voice from the back of the line.

With a loud cough of his exhaust pipe, Jazz gunned his engines and peeled down the street. One question ran through his processors and it scared him more than any Decepticon ever could. Just why had he felt the urge to transform and stomp over all those pathetic creatures?

_[Because they deserve it._

Jazz's speedometer jumped from thirty to sixty. Pedestrians and motorists alike tried hard not to stare at the Solstice revving down the streets, disappearing into smaller roads of Tranquility.

o00o

Hearing disembodied voices usually was not a troublesome thing, especially when one was a large transforming robot with communications built right into his cranial unit, or heck, had a whole radio sound-system built into his chassis. But this didn't have the feel of either of the two.

Parked in a little-used alleyway, Jazz effectively shut down all unneeded applications and hardware. As of that moment at the intersection, no stray thoughts had run through his mind. Jazz was very willing to contribute those thoughts to the endless hours he had to spend shut up in the underground Autobot med-bay. Stress right? He just needed to get out a little more often and chill. Perhaps outside a happening dance club, if little Tranquility had any of those.

"What's a hot car like this doing all the way out here?"

Jazz watched with slightly raised interest as two adolescent males lightly picked their way down the alley in his direction, one in a letter jacket, the other in some sport jersey.

"I dunno, got no driver though, an' most of this place is abandoned." grumbled jersey kicking an old rusty can until it bumped up against Jazz's front tire.

"Huh, been looking for a new car. Ever since Witwicky picked up that Camaro...how'd a piece of trash like him get that set of wheels anyways?"

Audios tuned up slightly at the mention of Sam's name.

"Beats me. How'd he steal your girl? Come on, let's get outta here."

The sound of sneakers shuffling quickly on cement and leather shoved up against brick redirected Jazz from his wandering thoughts about Sam and Mikaela back to the situation. Jersey was currently pinned, in what Jazz assumed a painful position, against the alley wall.

"I don't want to hear one more word about Mikaela from you. Got it?" hissed letter jacket. Jazz assumed that jersey nodded as he was quickly released from the pin.

Letter jacket's shoes crunched ominously on the gravel and Jazz sat in curious annoyance as the teen approached him. Rough hands glided appreciatively over his white hood, the sort of attention that Jazz would usually relish, but this time he had to resist the urge to back out of the alley with engines growling. Instead, there was a light click as both doors locked from the inside.

The boy moved over to Jazz's driver's side and crouched so that he was eye-level with the lock. "Can't be that hard to pop open..." he muttered. Jazz stiffened as something attempted to fit into the lock. With a loud chirp of his security systems, the driver's side door flew open, knocking letter jacket into the nearby wall.

"W-what?!" Both teens scrambled back, their bodies radiating fear and exhibiting (in guilty satisfaction to Jazz) heightened heart rates.

His satisfaction was short lived as letter jacket reached down, scooping up an old brick. "Demon-infested car!" he grunted while hurling the object straight towards Jazz's windshield.

The projectile had no time to make contact with its intended target. Instead, it was crushed into a powder by a four-digit hands. Letter jacket and jersey stood frozen as the once still Pontiac Solstice twisted and unfolded, finishing the rest of its transformation.

One step was all it took to breach the distance between him and his offenders. Jersey was the first to break out of the daze, he turned tail and ran out of the alleyway leaving letter jacket to fend for himself.

"Whaddaya tryin to pull, punk?"

The abandoned teen wasn't able to voice a thing as hands the size of tabletops came down and fixed him roughly against a brick wall. Finally, when he was able to voice something, all that came out was a garbled mess of panic.

What could be called a smirk twisted Jazz's features and his visor came down, analyzing all the twitches and blubbers from this boy. Relishing the fleshling's...fear.

Horror washed over the warrior and he jerked back, letting letter jacket take a short tumble to the ground.

_[Why stop here?!_

CPU and processors reeling, Jazz stumbled back and immediately reverted back to car mode, gunning as fast as he could back to Autobot Headquarters to the privacy and safety of his own quarters.

* * *

Constructive Criticism is welcome and appreciated. Beta anyone? 


	2. The Cure

Title: Half-Life  
Author: Darkfireblade aka Hellsfirescythe  
Fandom: Transformers 2007 movie  
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language  
Characters/Pairings: Jazz, Ensemble  
Summary: Re-awakening Jazz with the remaining piece of the Allspark had been the easy part. Dealing with its consequences and the aftermath of Mission City would open a whole new can of worms.  
Notes/Warnings: post-movie, contains spoilers.

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Cure**

"You can't stay in there all week, Jazz. Any longer and you'll disrupt your recharge cycle."

There was no answer beyond the thick metal door, no response from the minibot. Bumblebee passed one hand over his helm in frustration, an action he had picked up from Sam. He had been sitting out here for at least a day, not a very long time at all to a Transformer. But it was a long enough time without any responses to start worrying the spy. He had only gotten word of Jazz's self-isolation from Optimus. Apparently, the lieutenant had locked himself in his quarters for four human days. No one had heard a peep from the room and Ratchet was starting to worry.

"At this rate, Ratchet's going to interface with the base's security system and force your room open." said Bumblebee with a small chuckle. He fell silent and listened for any sound that would come through the portal. The spy could just make out the sound of metal scraping into motion. "Jazz, you know that clamming up isn't going to help anything."

Still no response.

"We just want to help..." Bumblebee murmured. _'So why does your pride make you run and hide? Are you that afraid of me? '_ crooned Elliott Yamin from the Camaro's speakers.

Something that sounded like a dry laugh leaked past the doorway, muffled, but it was a laugh, a sound. Bumblebee perked up from his slouch on the floor.

The blip of numbers being punched on the other side of the door greeted his audios. Faster than anyone would have thought a giant robot could move, Bumblebee moved smoothly to his feet just in time to see Jazz's door slide open.

Dirt scuffed white paint, a scratched and blemished finish, a tired smile of sheepish surrender greeted Bumblebee's optics.

"Can't hear my own thoughts with you wailin' out here." grumbled Jazz, his half-smile giving his words away. "Aren't you supposed to be with Sam?"

"He's at a concert with Mikaela, they won't be back till the weekend." replied Bumblebee, "They took a bus. I got a call from Optimus right before I was supposed to leave with them." he added at Jazz's questioning look. "It wasn't because of you either, Optimus thinks that we've picked up signs of one of our own on Earth. He wants me to check it out...What's wrong Jazz?"

"Ah, nothin's wrong," Jazz waved away Bumblebee's concern and began walking down the hallway. Bumblebee caught up easily to the smaller bot and made to spin him back around. Next thing he knew it, the Camaro was flying across the hall, his gyros reeling as he made contact with a metal wall with a thundering crash.

Jazz stood in the center of the hall, his face an open book of shock and remorse. The spy watched in a daze as Jazz was at his side in a matter of a second.

"Bee! Are you alright? I'm so sorry...I...I don't..." for once, Jazz was struggling for words. The situation in another time might have made Bumblebee laugh. Right now, Jazz wasn't the only one stunned for words.

Pounding footsteps reverberated down the hall. Ratchet and Optimus rounded around the corner, Ironhide followed soon after with Captain Lennox perched precariously in his hands.

Optimus only took one look at the situation before shaking his head. "Ratchet, take Jazz to the med-bay." the Autobot leader looked back at Ironhide and Lennox. "We'll debrief him there."

Ratchet lay one hand firmly on Jazz's shoulder, leading the speechless minibot away. Bumblebee scrambled up to follow, but was stopped by a small shake of Optimus's head. "Bumblebee, you get back to Sam. I just received a call from Mikaela that the boy wasn't feeling too well. I want you to bring them back home and keep an eye on him. Understand?"

Bumblebee reluctantly nodded, torn between Jazz and his human. Optimus must have caught his forlorn look at Jazz's retreating back. "He'll be alright. Bringing him back to life was a hard choice, and it'll be hard on us and him. Stay strong, Bumblebee. We all need to. Now go back to Sam."

o00o

"What were you thinking? First lieutenant my aft, you're acting more like a sparkling." grumbled Ratchet as he buffed at the scratches all along the transformed Solstice's form. "When something's wrong, you tell me. You do not hide away in your room."

"Don't push it, man. I-I just needed to think and run some diagnostics. It's just a glitch." Jazz protested half-heartedly.

"And who around here fixes the glitches? It definitely wasn't you last time I checked the rosters."

"Ratchet, I think you've grilled Jazz quite enough." admonished Optimus from his standing position a few meters ahead of Jazz's front bumper. The medic made a face and put in one last rough rub to underscore his scolding. "Jazz, Captain Lennox arrived here a few hours ago with news from the Pentagon. News, and it is news to us Jazz, arrived not too long ago about a robot car in the form of a Pontiac Solstice assaulting two adolescent boys in an empty alleyway."

Jazz remained quiet.

Optimus fought the urge to pinch at his olfactory sensors, another human action among many the Autobots had grown accustomed to. "Tests have shown that the boys had been imbibing alcohol and their blood tests show that they've also been dabbling in dangerous chemicals. The report is being written off as drug-induced hallucination. What the US government wants to know is why this incident happened and if it will ever happen again."

"I-I dunno, Optimus. First thing I noticed going down was that they were trying to pop my locks, next thing I knew it I had the punk pinned against the wall." Jazz's voice was uncharacteristically soft, almost a whisper.

"Tell us the whole story, Jazz. I know you are not prone to this sort of behavior," '_Unlike some individuals' _was left unsaid, but Ironhide shuffled wordlessly behind the Prime. "Captain Lennox is here to help us in this situation. Just start from the beginning."

Easier said than done. But, haltingly, Jazz related the story to his audience. Optimus watched in concern as it was delivered, realizing with a sinking feeling that something was being omitted. Lennox remained silent until the end.

"From what I can tell, your actions can be classified as self-defense." said the captain. "He'll safe, Optimus. All I know is that the Pentagon will stay edgy for a bit before calming back down."

"Thank you, captain." rumbled Optimus gratefully. He glanced at Jazz as the lieutenant shifted back into robot mode.

"Sorry 'bout makin' such a ruckus, Cap." Jazz looked wryly at Lennox, the two eye-to-eye with the lieutenant crouched down on the ground.

"It's no problem, Jazz. Anything to get you all out of a jam." smiled Lennox, giving Jazz a light jab. Optimus noted with alarm the stiffening of his second's form. He wasn't the only one that noticed as Ratchet and Ironhide both took one step forward. Only Lennox remained blissfully ignorant. The human had no way of detecting the minor subtleties of Cybertronian body language.

"Ironhide, you can escort Captain Lennox back home." Optimus's voice gave the Topkick no room for questioning. The weapons specialist cast one brief look over Jazz before ushering the human captain out of the med-bay.

As soon as Ironhide and his charge were out of ear-shot, Optimus turned back to the withdrawn form of Jazz.

"You left out information." stated Optimus. Jazz looked up, startled. "There were parts of your narrative that didn't fit together. Like I said before, this behavior doesn't fit you. Will you tell me the full story?"

o00o

With the heavy gazes of Ratchet and Optimus Prime weighing down upon him, it was hard to find the right thing to say. It was hard to disguise the conflict and confusion in his tone as he answered back. "I know this sounds crazy, Op. But I'm hearing voices. A voice. It's, it's so dark. I know it doesn't belong, that's foreign. Kinda like oil on water."

He looks to Ratchet for help, but all the medic can offer him is a faint look of confusion.

"So when Lennox touched you, did you experience the voice then?" asked Optimus.

Jazz didn't look away from Optimus's even stare and nodded. "'Crush them, crush the little insects.'" he whispered softly. Four-digit hands formed into fists. "I almost did."

_[Should have._

Dismay flooded into the expression of the Autobot leader. Jazz watched as Prime turned to Ratchet. "I want you to give him a full-scale scan. Report any anomalies immediately. Understand?" commanded Prime. The lime-green mechanic nodded and swept away in search of his tools.

"Optimus?"

The semi snapped out of his dazed look to focus on Jazz.

"Thanks man," said Jazz with a ghost of a smile.

"We'll figure out what's wrong as soon as possible, Jazz. Things will be back to normal soon." replied Optimus in a comforting tone.

It might have just been a pleasantry, but it was enough to relax the lieutenant as Ratchet laid him under the scanner. They'd figure out what was wrong. He trusted them.

_[Sentimental scrap._

_'Shut up.'_

"The scans have been completed, Optimus." Ratchet skimmed over the results that rolled over his HUV, memorizing their contents before turning to the expectant Autobot leader. "Come on, Jazz. You'll need to be hearing this as well."

Optimus rose from his silent thoughts and walked forward as Jazz gingerly picked himself from the berth before sliding off to weave his way towards Ratchet. The medic tapped a few controls in his helm, transmitting the results of the scan to his audience.

"Your systems are optimal. They should be, I just reconstructed them. But...there was one anomaly." Ratchet paused and symbols blazed to life in the air. "There are some extra strings of coding throughout your system...it's not Autobot, it's-"

"Decepticon," finished Optimus, one of his large fists clenching tightly. His optics flickered in apparent frustration.

"The problem should be simple enough to rectify. If I transmit some virus anti-bodies, they should latch on to the foreign data and eradicate it." Ratchet shut of the simulation and transferred his attention back to Jazz. "We'll have to start the procedure right now. It's not a static coding that's downloaded into your systems. It's spreading, currently you have enough extra data storage for it to be not a problem. But as the coding grows, your systems will automatically begin dumping other data to make room."

"Start the procedure now." interrupted Optimus, earning a startled stare from both mechs. "I want that coding eradicated ASAP." With that, the Prime exited the med-bay, his attention caught by an external call.

Ratchet barely detected the minuscule flinch passing through Jazz's body. "I'm in some deep shit, eh Ratch?"

"Don't start doubting me now, you smart aleck. Back on the berth." snapped Ratchet with a short barking laugh. The amusement in both died down as the medic began attaching various cables to Jazz's chassis and cranial. "So what'd it say this time?"

"Whaddaya talkin' about?"

"When Optimus left, I detected minor vibrations rolling off your body"

Jazz slowly lay down on the berth, never taking his optics away from Ratchet's even gaze before shrugging. "Just mocking Optimus. Ratch, I...I recognize that voice. Ain't nothin' that take that voice out of my memory banks. I think it's M-"

"Hush, don't go leaping to conclusions. Right now, it's just a few lines of excess coding. Nothing I can't get rid of." said Ratchet. _'I hope.'_

Ratchet watched as Jazz slowly settle back down into the berth and ran back over the scans. What could pass as a frown flashed over his visage. The coding was spreading, spreading a lot faster than he had anticipated. An image of Optimus's tight expression appeared fleetingly in his thoughts.

_'There's something he's not telling us.'_

"Alright Jazz, I'm starting up the program."

"..."

Looking back at Jazz, Ratchet's movements quickened. The lieutenant had entered shut-down, something that would make the job of his anti-virus programs easier. Good. He wouldn't let the other down. Not this time. Returning his attention back on the computer screen, he failed to see the brief flicker of consciousness in Jazz's optics appear and disappear with a faded red glow.

* * *

'Wait for You' by Elliott Yamin

* * *


	3. Infiltration

Title: Half-Life  
Author: Darkfireblade aka Hellsfirescythe  
Fandom: Transformers 2007 movie  
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language  
Characters/Pairings: Jazz, Ensemble  
Summary: Re-awakening Jazz with the remaining piece of the Allspark had been the easy part. Dealing with its consequences and the aftermath of Mission City would open a whole new can of worms.  
Notes/Warnings: post-movie, contains spoilers.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Infiltration **

_Autobot med-bay in Headquarters, outskirts of Tranquility, Nevada _

"I would like an explanation, Prime. Right. Now."

Frustration was practically rolling off the Autobot medic in strong waves. He could feel his internal temperature rising with each passing second as Optimus refused to meet his visual receptors. Ratchet tapped one finger against his crossed arms and his mouth tightened further. "Neither of us are leaving this room until I get it. If it has anything to do with Jazz's condition, I need to know. Now."

"It's...nothing. Just an old mech's worrying," sighed Optimus looking decidedly uncomfortable.

Ratchet hissed with a sound akin to steam rushing out from a press. He flipped a nearby switch on the computer counsel. The lights that had previously been muted in the OR flooded the spacious room, allowing the one-way window to become fully operational. Ratchet flung his arm, pointing at the glowing restrains newly placed on a prone Jazz in the middle of the OR.

"That's nothing, Optimus? Tell me that's nothing. Tell me there's no reason for an in-stasis Jazz to suddenly jump off that berth weapons charging. Tell me there's no reason for the Decepticon coding to be mutating and breaking through MY anti-virus coding!" growled Ratchet. "I know there's something you're not telling me, not telling us."

The Prime started in his silence, shock flooding his stance and expression. "Jazz did what? How did you stop him?"

"I tackled him, in my own med-bay and forced him back into the OR. His defenses weren't so active, almost as if he wasn't used to his own body," Ratchet stated simply while casting a sideways glance towards Optimus.

Normally staunch and a pillar of strength, Optimus Prime now looked troubled, as if his greatest fears have been realized. Those great shoulders fell as Optimus strode slowly towards the window, gazing in upon Jazz. Ratchet almost felt a twinge of sympathy for his leader over his annoyance.

"It's...it's as I feared," sighed Optimus. "Megatron was stronger than I gave him credit for."

"Megatron? That's what Jazz nearly said! How can this be?" sputtered Ratchet, rushing over to Prime's side to look at his patient. Jazz lay motionless, optics dark. "He entered stasis-lock protocols himself, you know? I was right in the middle of fastening his restraints, it was as if he suddenly came to. He gave me this look of utter terror before initiating his sequence. I-I don't think I can ever forget that look."

"I...I was reckless. After finding that piece of Allspark, after Jazz's death...I was selfish. I didn't think of the consequences or what might have happened to the piece due to the place I found it in," Optimus's hands formed into fists. Ratchet could easily read his commander's rising heat signature, Optimus's electromagnetic field flickering wildly in his frustration.

"Where did you find the shard of Allspark, Optimus?" asked Ratchet gravely.

There was a moment of regretful and guilty silence before Optimus responded, head bowing against the window. "In Megatron's extinguished spark-chamber."

Ratchet resisted the urge to snap at the Prime or deck his leader for his stupidity, but it was just as much his fault as it was Optimus's. The decision to bring Jazz back to life wasn't solely made of a decision of Optimus. They, the remaining Autobots, all had their word in the process. So eager were they to bring back a fallen friend that they didn't think to ask any questions. They had the Allspark, what more was there to do? To happen?

"I managed to quarantine the coding...the anti-virus isn't working. If that code really is what we think it is -Megatron's core programming- I don't know how long we have for the wall to hold," said Ratchet. "Jazz is beginning to run out of extra storage space. If the sequence grows large enough, his memory bank will automatically begin purging data to make more room."

"If Megatron has the strength now to control the body while Jazz is offline, we have to be prepared for the situation in which he gains enough power to take over Jazz's cons-"

"It's _not_ going to happen," snarled Ratchet.

"But we have to be prepared. Hopefully it's for nothing," rumbled Optimus.

o00o

He hung in that dreaded limbo again. Darkness, nothing, silence...well, near silence and near nothing. Jazz shivered as a phantom clawed hand brushed against his chassis in a mocking imitation of a lover's caress.

"Quit playing around, bastard," Jazz spat out.

"Ah, First Lieutenant Jazz, your helplessness disgusts me so," Megatron's voice was like a distant rumble, disdain dripping from its surface. "Where's your fight that I so enjoyed last time we met in the corporeal world?"

"You stay away from the others, punk! This is between you and me!"

A half-way amused chuckle fills the space, making Jazz feel like as small and insignificant as a bug. "This seems rather one-sided to me, Autobot." Phantom claws rake down Jazz's back, provoking a choked grimace. "We can play later, your medic friend is quite impressive. But I'm afraid he'll do you no good."

Choice human and Cybertronian curses made their way out of Jazz's vocalizer, but Megatron's presence no longer appeared in the void.

o00o

"Bee, I'm fine! You can honestly let go now," grumbled Sam from his perch in the Autobot scout's hand. Mikaela looked down apologetically from her own spot on Bumblebee's shoulder.

"Random wobbling usually doesn't bode well in health for your species," Bumblebee pointed out quietly while walking quietly down the halls of Autobot headquarters.

"Just a bit too much crowd surfing okay? I mean, I've got motion sickness...not enough to keep me off killer rides of course. I love roller coasters, right Mikaela?" Sam protested, frowning when Mikaela just smiled and laughed. His heart skipped a beat. "Sure, yeah. Just leave me hanging here why don't you? See if I ever try to help you out with giant alien robots again."

Mikaela offered Sam a heart-melting smile, something she hadn't done often for the last few days. The fact that she was looking more and more distracted every passing day was starting to worry him. But right now, right now things seemed back to normal, he really should catch colds more often then. "Alright Bee, give Sam a chance here. He probably ate something bad at one of the food stands. Anyways, I thought you said Optimus told you to bring us home."

"Ratchet can give you a brief scan to tell us what's wrong. Then I'll decide between sending home or going to the hospital. If my sources are correct, that's where you humans go when feeling unwell, right?" Bumblebee made a turn to an alternate corridor, ignoring Sam's valiant protests.

"Look, big guy. A few days ago? That was just a cold. I'm all better now, see? All better!" Sam gestured wildly as if that would illustrate his status of health to his large guardian. Oh great, now he looked even more stupid in front of Mikaela. What other protests he had lodged in his throat died down when the med-day doors slid open for them revealing Ratchet and Optimus Prime on the other side. "Um, hey, we crashing something? -Whoa!" Sam and Mikaela both clutched at their ride as Bumblebee lurched forward.

Sam blanched as he caught sight of the figure through the OR window. Sure he's seen Jazz like this before, still and lying on that metallic slab. But...something curled in the bottom of Sam's stomach when he saw the glowing things strapped around Jazz's limbs and mid-section. A gasp from Mikaela mirrored his own shock.

"H-hey, what's going on here?" Sam squirmed in Bumblebee's grasp as the bot's hold grew marginally tighter. He sees Bumblebee nodding, as if echoing his question.

"We just needed to secure Jazz in case of any accidents," says Prime, his voice soothing Sam's worries. It would have worked if not for the brief look of...something (outrage?) that flashed across Ratchet's features. He wasn't sure, reading the facial language of different transformers isn't something Sam had gotten himself well-acquainted with yet. "Bumblebee, I thought I told you to take the humans home."

"I wanted to get Sam looked over by Ratchet," muttered Bumblebee, still not looking away from Jazz's bound form.

"I'm find, Bee. Honest," Sam offered an awkward smile and gently patted his guardian's hand in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Bee's grip loosened and Sam clambered up to join Mikaela on the Autobot's shoulder.

"You don't have to take us back right away. Sam's parents still think that we're going to be at the concert until tomorrow," said Mikaela. "We can wait till then."

"Yeah, we can make ourselves at home here. No biggie," Sam shrugged.

Large blue optics shined brightly as Bumblebee's head turned to regard his two charges, Sam couldn't help but fidget under the Autobot's gaze.

"Thank you, Mikaela, Sam."

o00o

"I know that you're worried about Jazz, but letting the humans stay here can be disastrous," Ratchet had chastised not long after Sam and Mikaela had vacated the med-bay to find somewhere suitable to spend the night in the Autobot base. Now, internal chronometer clocking near midnight, Bumblebee found himself still watching over Jazz's still form. Not too far away, he could hear the low whirr of fans as Ratchet dozed on a berth shoved into the corner of the med-bay.

The dimmed lights of the main room only served to make the view into the bright OR all the clearer. Bumblebee shuddered and glanced to the south wall, hoping for some comfort in the glow reflected off the warped surface of the Allspark shard. There it was, all that was left of their civilization, of their world. Suspended in its hollow, the shard turned lazily.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

The unexpected statement made Bumblebee jump, his arm cannon was half-engaged when he spotted Ratchet propped up by one arm in his berth. Bumblebee's arm cannon retracted accompanied by a sheepish emission from his vocalizer. "Didn't know that you were awake, Ratchet."

"Recharge is difficult to attain properly with mechs moping and sighing within a thirty-feet radius," Ratchet responded, the light tease eliciting a small noise of protest from Bumblebee. "You were looking at the Allspark shard?"

Bumblebee nodded slowly.

"I suggest that you don't look for any hope with that any longer. It's as good as gone to us now," Ratchet grunted as he pushed himself off the berth to walk towards the scout.

"But it brought Jazz back to us, it can't be of no use," protested Bumblebee, the centuries and millenniums of awe for the Allspark still tightly ingrained into him.

"Yes, it brought Jazz back, but at what price?" Ratchet changed course and made his way slowly to the OR window. "Optimus is going to have a debriefing on this first thing tomorrow, but, I feel that I should tell you now."

"Tell me what?"

"The Allspark is gone to us, Bumblebee. We can't use it. It was found in Megatron's spark chamber," said Ratchet. The confusion in Bumblebee's expression must have been evident, for the medical officer continued. "Megatron has a strong will to live, to conquer. He wouldn't give himself up easily. His coding is now mixed into that of the shard. Anything brought to life by it will inadvertently..."

Bumblebee didn't hear any more of Ratchet's explanation as he stared in horror at Jazz's body. A flinch rolled through the scout's frame as Ratchet's hand clamped down firmly on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bumblebee."

"Is there anything we can do?" _'Is there anything_ you _can do?'  
_

"I'm working on it, Bumblebee. My mind has churned through hundreds of possibilities and through every simulation, none have worked as of yet. "I'll find something though, I promise. We won't be losing Jazz again."

Such a promise is something Ratchet shouldn't be making, even Bumblebee knew that. But he allowed those words to take root and nodded.

"Go get some recharge, Bumblebee. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow," murmured Ratchet. Bumblebee resisted for a moment as Ratchet's hand pushed him lightly towards the med-bay doors. He took one last look in Jazz's direction before following Ratchet's lead.

The doors to the med-bay slid shut with a definite hiss, leaving Ratchet and Jazz the sole occupants once more.

"I hate to think of Ironhide's reaction when he hears of all of this."


	4. Escape

Title: Half-Life  
Author: Darkfireblade aka Hellsfirescythe  
Fandom: Transformers 2007 movie  
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language  
Characters/Pairings: Jazz, Ensemble  
Summary: Re-awakening Jazz with the remaining piece of the Allspark had been the easy part. Dealing with its consequences and the aftermath of Mission City would open a whole new can of worms.  
Notes/Warnings: post-movie, contains spoilers.

**Chapter Four: Escape**

_Autobot med-bay in Headquarters, outskirts of Tranquility, Nevada _

Silence. Heavy, thick, tense silence was what greeted the early dawn meeting when Ironhide learned of Jazz's problem. A silent black shadow was what trailed Ratchet back to the med-bay. No words were exchanged between the two veterans, none were needed.

For nearly half an hour, Ironhide stood like an imposing wraith in front of the OR window staring at Jazz's form. Ratchet left the mech to his own thoughts, Ironhide would speak when he was ready. Besides, Ratchet had to think of his own answers to the questions that would be brewing in the weapons specialist's mind.

Finally, the silence was broken by something other than the click clack of computer keys and the whoosh of hydraulics. "How long do we have?"

Ratchet glanced up from the computer screen to blink absently at the other. "Excuse me?"

"I asked: How long do we have? What about that question doesn't parse with you?" Ironhide's voice was practically a frustrated growl as he whirled around, stalking towards the engineer. Ratchet didn't shrink away from Ironhide's stormy approach.

"I find your trust in my abilities quite comforting," though Ratchet's voice remained casual, a tense ripple passed through his frame.

Ironhide stopped in his tracks, good eye blinking rapidly before sucking in a steady breath through his intakes. There was tense then awkward shuffling from Ironhide's direction before Ratchet felt a wave of hot air blast towards his direction: Ironhide's form of an angry sigh. "You know I didn't mean it that way."

"...I know," Ratchet pushed himself away from the computer screen and moved slowly towards Ironhide's side.

"I don't suppose we can just go in and blast Megatron out of there."

The sound of rushed gears and pistons moving betrayed Ratchet's astonished double take. "Ironhide--" he began, voice pitched in a warning tone.

"I know, I know. Just throwing the idea out before it actually processes," The matter of the suggestion was even tempting Ironhide wasn't brought up. Then again, blasting and slagging was how the weapons specialist was used to when dealing with problems--Decepticon related problems.

"I wish that it was that simple," murmured Ratchet as he turned back to the work-station. One tap brought up hundreds of lines of coding--hundreds of alien lines that grew from the few he had found earlier. The growth rate had slowed considerably after the set up of the quarantine...but...

"So?" Ironhide grunted.

"So what?" Ratchet glanced back at the black mech's stubbornly questioning gaze. He knew what Ironhide meant. Green shoulders sagged and Ratchet rolled his neck, seeking to undo any kinks and stiff joints that had built up over the day. "We have as long as Jazz gives us."

Ironhide's engine snarled, and Ratchet could practically feel the other's glare lance over his shoulder towards the lines of code. Towards the only evidence that they could see of Megatron. "Well, the lad had better hang in there. We've only just got him back, we aren't losing him again." Especially if it's to the same person they lost him to in the first place. No, losing this battle wasn't an option.

Funny they didn't know that Megatron felt the same way.

o00o

"--zz, Jazz, can you hear me?"

The world came into a painfully bright focus. Two points of brilliant blue looked down upon him through the sterile white, Jazz groaned and shook his head. Hands lit gently on his shoulders and Jazz complied to their pushes groggily. "Wha? What's going on?" He blinked again and finally saw the yellow. "Bumblebee?"

"Shh, I'm not supposed to be in here. Ratchet would blow a gasket if he found out," whispered Bumblebee making quieting gestures with his fingers. The scout still hadn't grown out of talking with his hands. "Just wanted to wish you good luck before I left."

"You're going somewhere? What's shaking?" Jazz attempted once more to sit up, to be eye-level with the other bot. The sudden flare of energy and tug at his limbs brought him back down. The energon restraints...he forgot about those. A darkly amused chuckle passed through his mind as quickly and quietly as a whisp of smoke.

A troubled sound makes its way out of Bumblebee's vocalizer before he spoke again. "We've got an Autobot signal close by and Optimus wants me to check it out. I might be out for a few days, might not."

"You better watch your aft out there. Don't make me regret not comin' with you," muttered Jazz. Both mechs laughed lightly, skillfully covering up their unease with the whole situation. "I'll be fine."

Bumblebee nodded and offered Jazz his semblance of a smile before disappearing from Jazz's line of sight.

He was alone again, alone and on-line with nothing but silence greeting this senses. Ratchet's familiar whirr of intakes was missing from the scene. A jittery tick developed in Jazz's foot, the need to move spread to the Lieutenant's fingers. Jazz was only slightly placated by the tunes emanating from his radio.

o00o

No one around to talk to. Nothing new to look at. Jazz checked his chronometer: 0800. It had been an hour since Bumblebee left. Ratchet still wasn't back.

"Hey, Jazz, you awake?"

The cautiously soft voice followed by the presence of two heat signatures on his sensors alerted Jazz to his new visitors. Head craning ever so slightly to get a view of them, Jazz offered a confused smile.

"Sam, Mikaela, I thought you left with Bumblebee."

"Nah, I think Bumblebee said he had something to do. I dunno, I was half asleep," shrugged Sam with a sheepish smile. Mikaela rubbed her eyes and nodded, still looking a little bleary. The human female also seemed to be quite preoccupied with something else on her mind. "Optimus said he'd give us a ride home. Don't know how inconspicuous that would be--I mean, it was great of him to offer but...you know what I mean."

Something akin to an odd recognition stirred in Jazz's mind as he nodded along to Sam's explanation. That's not odd, of course he'd recognize the two. But the surge of vengeful hatred that colored his vision red was something Jazz did not expect. The sight of the Autobot 2IC straining fitfully in his restraints was something Sam and Mikaela didn't seem to expect either.

"Jazz! Buddy you okay?"

"Sam, we've got to call Ratchet."

"Yeah, yeah you're right call Ratc--"

Whatever dialogue that started between the two humans faded to the back of Jazz's attention as a furious voice roared through his audios. _[ Rip, rend, tear. Troublesome human. Witwicky _

"Jazz! What's wrong, talk to me!"

No! No not now! Jazz growled and shoved back at the presence attempting to force itself over him. _'You stay in that box Ratchet made for you!'_

_[ Out of my way, weakling!  
_

_'No, you get outta my way.' _With that and one great mental shove, Jazz collapsed back onto the unyielding surface of the operating slab. Everything was quiet save for the guttural growl of his engine and the choked sighs from the OR doorway--Mikaela and Sam.

"S'alright, don't worry. I'm good," Jazz panted.

"I don't know how you Autobots go about with things, but here on Earth, flailing around like that does not mean 'good', Jazz," Sam protested, disbelief very evident in his voice.

"I'll be okay. You two--I think you two should probably split. Optimus is probably lookin' for the both of yah," muttered Jazz, shifting back into what he hoped would be a more comfortable position--it wasn't-- that at the same time would kept Sam and Mikaela out of his line of sight. Even if he couldn't see them, the two humans were still quite audible. There was a bout of heated whispers before two pairs of footsteps started up and faded away, the med-bay door whooshing closed behind them.

Jazz sighed. Still no sign of Ratchet. Where was that big bot? The sound of something skittering around in the outside med-bay put Jazz's attention back on high alert. No way that could be Ratchet, a mech that big just didn't 'skitter'. In fact, Jazz was quite sure that a mech anything like Ratchet probably didn't do 'skitter'. The lieutenant strained up once more, craning his head to peer into the darkened med-bay...only to find the floor flying up to meet him as the expected forces of his restraints didn't hold him back.

Putting off the worry for his paint-job until later, Jazz picked himself off the ground and stared at the operating slab he had, just moments ago, been strapped to. No signs of the energon bonds that had held him down before. Malfunction? But...Ratchet's equipment didn't malfunction. The Doctor kept better specs than that. Intruder? But who?

With surprising fluidity and silence for a being of his size, Jazz glided across the floor, infrared sensors activated on 'High'. There was nothing but the hum of the med-bay's machinery and the steady pulse of the Allspark shard. The sound of metal 'skittering' again made Jazz whirl around. The med-bay doors whooshed open and close behind him. Another turn. Nothing.

Somewhere in the corner of Jazz's mind, he could hear Megatron's dark chuckle.

o00o

Further out on some country roads, a black Topkick revved testily after his Hummer companion. Any human passerby would have noticed the fitful swerves and sounds that were interchanged between the two. Fortunately, Ratchet and Ironhide didn't have to worry about witnesses, they were too busy dealing with each other and the news about Jazz.

"You pulled me out at a bad time, Ironhide. You know that?"

The black Topkick's engine made a rumbling sound that might have resembled a grumble. "I hear yah, I hear yah."

Ratchet's speed kicked up another notch, the bot was going to have to pay for all this acceleration some time later. Ironhide cursed as the emergancy lights came on, nearly fritzing out his optic sensors. He could barely hear Ratchet over the wailing sirens and wind, lucky for him Ratchet decided to switch over to radio. // ...I shouldn't have left. Oh for the Allspark I hope he hasn't gone and hurt himself. //

// You keep your fretting and you're going to pop a rivet. Jazz will be fine, he's got more than enough spunk to put Megatron back in his place// Ironhide said in an attempt to calm the other down.

// What Sam and Mikaela said about Jazz's reaction to them does not warrent the lable of 'fine'// ground out Ratchet. // The paintjob could have waited. I was selfish. //

// You needed a fragging break, Ratchet. You've spent megacycles pouring over Jazz and that coding. Getting some time for yourself is not --//

// It put my patient in danger! That is inexcusable// snapped Ratchet sharply. // This discussion is over, right now we need to focus on getting back to base and finding a way to help Jazz. //

At that moment, a white and blue sports car whizzed past them. Ratchet pulled hard on his brakes and immediately skidded around, Ironhide following quickly. "Oh for the love of..."

// Sam! Mikaela! Stat//

// Ratchet? Oh my gosh, Ratchet is that you? Trouble here, big bot. Jazz just made a break for it and --- //

// Copied, I think he just passed us. Alert Prime immediately, Ironhide and I are on it right now. //

"Think we have some extra speed in these old chassis, Ironhide?"

"More than enough to chase down, two-bit punks."

With the sound of screeching tires along with the flash and wail of sirens, the black Topkick and the red and white emergency vehicle tore down the open roads after their runaway companion.

* * *

_Author's note: Apologies for the delay in update. School's been eating up my life like nothing else and all November I had been tackling NaNoWriMo (finished it too ). Things are finally coming together for this story in my mind so hopefully, updates won't take as long. Thanks for staying with me here, couldn't do it without you guys._


	5. Resistance

Title: Half-Life (5/?)  
Author: Darkfireblade aka Hellsfirescythe  
Fandom: Transformers 2007 movie  
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language  
Characters/Pairings: Jazz, Ensemble  
Summary: Re-awakening Jazz with the remaining piece of the Allspark had been the easy part. Dealing with its consequences and the aftermath of Mission City would open a whole new can of worms.  
Notes/Warnings: post-movie, contains spoilers. I have a feeling that this story is going to be finishing up pretty darn soon.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Resistance **

He had run. Dangit, he should have just locked himself back into the OR of the med-bay. But, upon seeing Sam and Mikaela outside and feeling Megatron scrabbling in his prison, he panicked and ran.

Jazz panicked and Megatron took full advantage of that fact, using the lieutenant's worry to force his way back into the forefront of control over this body. A shudder passed through Jazz's form, the remnants of the Autobot's consciousness convulsed at the feel of Megatron's utter rapture with his freedom.

But Megatron wasn't going to be staying in control for long. Not without a good fight.

o00o

_Autobot med-bay in Headquarters, outskirts of Tranquility, Nevada _

_"At this time, it is unknown who perpetrators of this high speed chase are and who it is they are chasing. Eyewitnesses to the chase have claimed to seeing these exotic vehicles driving around town numerous times. They have never caused any trouble, it seems, until now. It also looks like local police force have involved themselves in the chase. We shall keep you updated on this strange occurrence over the hour, until then—"  
_

The monitor blinked shut, quieting the reporter in mid-sentence and leaving the control room in a heavy blanket of silence.

Optimus Prime was the first to speak. "Sam, Mikaela, I want the two of you to remain here and watch the base. I'm going to lend a hand getting Jazz back here."

The two humans slid quickly off their seats and scrambled after Optimus, dodging his huge footsteps as the attempted to keep up with him. "Wait a minute! You're leaving us here?" shouted Sam skidding to a stop in front of the Autobot leader.

"Is there any way we can help, Optimus?" came Mikaela's confident tone, much too close to the Prime's feet for comfort.

"With all due respect, Sam, Mikaela, there's nothing you can do here. Perhaps if this were an issue involving Bumblebee–but this isn't. Jazz is an...unstable mech right now. We already have Ratchet and Ironhide on the case, I shall be as well and soon shall Bumblebee. With all units away from base, we need someone here to make sure no one gets in without our noticing. Can I trust you two with this?"

For a moment it looked as if the two were going to protest, but much to Optimus's surprise and relief, they nodded.

"Stay safe and don't worry. Everything will be fine," said Optimus. Whether he was trying to reassure the humans or himself, he wasn't quite sure. "If anything does happen back here, just call me or the others. We'll send someone back to help."

"Yeah, sure. We gotcha, Optimus," murmured Sam. Optimus could only imagine that the male's tone of voice was of a slightly dejected nature. Younglings, they never quite understood.

// Bumblebee, a delay in your mission. We have other issues to take care of that I'm sure you're already aware of. I am sending you coordinates of the chase. //

// Understood, Optimus. Changing course immediately. // He could almost hear Bumblebee's sigh of relief on the other end. Of course the spy would know, the news was all over the human's broadcasting stations. But Optimus knew that the scout had the self-control not to go speeding after the chase without specific instruction, especially with Ratchet and Ironhide already covering it.

// Best of luck then, and take care. //

//You too, Optimus. //

o00o

_Streets of Tranquility, Nevada _

Water sprayed liberally over the Solstice's form as it went careening through a puddle. The streets of Tranquility were surprisingly empty, a fortunate thing for its residents as the white and blue sports car swerved dangerously to and fro, fish-tailing and oversteering as it rounded corners and jolted over curbs. It was a picture of chaos that barely mirrored what was going on within that shaking chassis.

"Resistance if futile, Autobot. Though your persistence is admirable, it is foolish."

Back in the void in the midst of a full on mental war, Jazz spun wildly, squeezing off shots with his photon rifle as he made to dodge any of Megatron's heavy swipes.

"No words, Jazz? Sure this 'little glitch' of yours isn't warranting so much of your attention?" came Megatron's mocking voice. But Jazz could notice the fitful grimaces the Decepticon warlord made as some of his shots made connection with Megatron's armor. Jazz sprung at this opportunity, scrambling to seize control—which he had for a few klicks before Megatron shook him off again and wrested it back.

Another few blasts and some fancy footwork, a full on optic and audio assault and control was belonged to Jazz again. If only for a few precious moments.

// Ratchet! I don't think I can keep this up any longer//

// Don't give up on me now, Jazz. After all those times you never stood down, don't tell me you're giving up now. //

Jazz turned a corner, trying to hone in on Ratchet's signal. Almost there, almost there. // I'll try to hold him off a little longer. You've got somethin' for me, right? Somethin' to help//

// Putting it together as fast as I can, Jazz...Jazz//

// Nothing you put together can stop me, Autobot Ratchet. Jazz is mine!//

o00o

_Autobot base, outskirts of Tranquility, Nevada _

"Sam, stop pacing. It's doing nothing to help them," sighed Mikaela.

"I know, I know. It's just that I can't help but worry," Sam muttered. "I can't help that I feel so–"

"Useless?"

Their eyes met for a moment and Sam finally stopped in his mission to wear a rut on the Autobot's metal counter-tops. Quietly, Mikaela scooted over in her chair to make space for Sam. The monitor displaying the various camera feeds around base were still quite normal. Nothing funky was going down here. It seemed that all the action was going on anywhere but here.

"Don't you think we should do something? I mean, we're doing nothing here, zip. We gotta help Jazz some how and..."

Sam's rant dissolved into silence as he found himself on the receiving end of a rather soft kiss. "You're a good guy, Sam. You know that?" The only response Mikaela received was a shocked cough and an squeaked attempt at a response. "We're already doing something. As much as sitting here guarding base sucks, Optimus is right. We can't just leave the base open to anyone to come in."

"All we need to do is to get these guys to understand the concept of a door..." muttered Sam, but there was a slight smile on his face. Mikaela laughed and shoved her boyfriend over a bit. Sam Witwicky, boyfriend, who'd have thought, right?

"We'll work on that as soon as Optimus and the others get back then."

"Yeah, that sounds about–"

Simultaneously, Mikaela and Sam stopped in their banter and turned back to the monitors. "Did you see that, Mikaela?"

Hands sought each other out as a silver form disappeared in and out of different screens. "I'm seeing it, Sam." They looked at each other and nodded.

"Med-bay."

oooo

Too easy, too easy. First for the Jazz-bot, and now for the Allspark. Stupid Autobots, it takes all of them to chase down their little friend? If this had been a Decepticon chase, Megatron would have had all their heads over this incompetence. Megatron will have all the Autobot heads now because of their incompetence. Barricade wouldn't be happy, no. He wanted to tear Bumblebee's chassis apart himself. All the more reason to get this retrieval mission over quickly. Barricade was waiting and this time, not very patiently.

Frenzy slunk around one corner, eye-stalks waving as he checked for any presences in the hall. No one. That's to be expected. These Autobots were too sure of themselves. They weren't the ones that checked for bodies, it was the humans. But the humans couldn't get their grubby paws on bodies that were still alive, no they couldn't. Stupid humans. Not everyone needed a head to survive. But, it had been days in Barricade (after some tricky work by the large infiltrator) before his sliced off pieces patched themselves back onto his body.

But now Megatron was back, Megatron in a bot's body. Boy, did Barricade's engine rumble when they first received readings of Megatron's presence on this planet days ago. Their leader would never be done away with so easily by a puny human. Never.

There, the Allspark's signature! Frenzy tip-toed quickly across another hallway and found himself in front of familiar med-bay doors. Only this time, there would be no Jazz-Megatron conglomeration needing his help. This time, all he needed was that Allspark shard. Another step closer to the doors and they whooshed open. He could see it now, the shard and—heat signatures?

A strangled yelp filled the med-bay as Frenzy dodged a clumsy blow to his head. The head, they were always aiming for his head. Another heavy blow came down, this time effectively batting his body across the room, further from the Allspark. Shaking like a live-wire, Frenzy focused his sights on the two humans stalking towards him. So the Autobots weren't so stupid to leave the base fully open. They were still idiots for leaving these to squishies behind to deal with a mech's business. But no time to play with the humans, Barricade was waiting.

Frenzy heard and reveled in the humans' shocked noises as he launched himself over their heads. Closer and closer was the Allspark, another jump up to the counter top and towards its wall container. With a quick punch, the glass separating the Allspark from the world was shattered. All he had to do now was reach inside and—

An alarm flared through the base. At this time Frenzy would have snatched the shard away and scampered out of the base. But there was one problem. Energon bonds snaked around his form, freezing him in place. Tricky Ratchet, that annoying medic-engineer. Frenzy could hear the triumphant cries of the humans down below. Oh they won't be capturing him so easily.

CD blades went spinning across the room, turning those cries of triumph into cries of terror as the humans went sprawling in order to avoid them. But the machinery couldn't dodge. Another shot with his weapons and the blades found something vital to his trap. His bonds flickered away and with an easy grab, the Allspark was his. Take that, Ratchet.

Frenzy leaped off the counter and skidded to a stop before the door. With one last look at the stunned humans, he flipped a birdie and ran. Won't Barricade be pleased now?

o00o

_Junk yard, outskirts of Tranquility, Nevada _

// Optimus! Optimus//

// What is it Sam? Has something gone wrong//

// Something has most definitely gone wrong, big-bot. Frenzy came barging in and got his picky hands on the Allspark piece. Mikaela and I are on his and Barricade's tail. //

// Fall back _immediately _, Sam! I won't risk the two of you getting hurt in this. //

// Don't worry about us, we'll be alright. Sam and Mikaela signing out, Optimus//

// Sam! Mikaela! Wait– //

A frustrated rumble made its way out of the Prime, but he had to put his worries for the humans aside as his captive made an attempt to twist out of his grasp once again.

"Hold him steady, Optimus. I'm almost done here," murmured Ratchet, optics aglow as he continued plugging away at an counter-program. "If we lose him here, there's no telling if we'd be able to find him at all amidst this junk." A junk yard. They were in the middle of a junk yard. According to some of Bumblebee's previous reports, this was the same place where he had first beamed the Autobots down to Earth.

"Easier said than done, Ratchet. You know how slippery his armor is," Optimus tightened his grip, frowning as Jazz's plating creaked beneath the immense pressure. Nearby, Bumblebee shifted in his stance. The younger bot was clearly distressed by the situation, but he handled his emotions well. Ironhide stood between the two, his attention fixated on Jazz's body writhing away in Optimus's arms.

"The humans are approaching, Optimus," murmured Bumblebee.

Ironhide's cannons clicked, mirroring the veteran's anxiety and irritation. "Your orders, Prime?"

Optimus sighed. Human reporters and their insatiable appetites for news, even if said news would take them to the maws of death. At this rate, news the Autobots on Earth would be spread, despite what measures the US government and Sector 7 (before it had been disbanded) had taken in order to hush up the happenings at Mission City.

"Keep them out of the area. Barricade the entrances and exits and distract them however you can. Just try and remain under cover," Optimus paused and glanced over at Ironhide. "No harming the humans." Ironhide just snorted back before jogging after Bumblebee.

"Optimus, your sentimentality is pathetic," hissed Jazz–no, hissed Megatron. "There's nothing you can do. Nothing short of destroying your little friend, but even then I'm still around. I win, Optimus, either way."

"No, Megatron. You don't. Fight him, Jazz. Keep fighting him."

Jazz's body spasmed and went limp for a few moment. "Just finish me off, Optimus. I can't hold on much longer."

"Quit thinking that way, Jazz. We'll find a way to cure you–"

"Cure me? As far as I can tell, Megatron's about to_ be _me. Look, I don't want that fragger parading around in my body," Jazz's gaze flickered. "I'm losing things, Optimus. I'm losing data of old times. Memories. He's growing."

"Jazz..."

"Kill me now, Optimus, before he gets to me first."

Before Optimus could respond, a green hand reached in and plugged something into Jazz's neck. Ratchet glared furiously at the figures rolling across the screen of his datapad as the lieutenant wisely shut his mouth.

"We have to get him back to base, Prime. What I put into Jazz's systems will probably only distract Megatron for a few cycles. I'm going to need all my equipment, for this," demanded Ratchet. "We don't have much time, but I want to make the most of it."

"Optimus!"

Ironhide's shout sent heads turning. Optimus, with Jazz still in his arms and accompanied by Ratchet, picked his way over to the arms specialist.

"What's going on, Ironhide? Bumblebee? We are supposed to remain unnoticed here. Why the yelling?" hissed Optimus.

"No need for hiding any longer, Prime. Barricade's got the humans under his gun. He's demanding your presence," grumbled Ironhide. His displeasure at the Decepticon and his demands evident.

"He also has Sam and Mikaela," said Bumblebee quietly, the scout stood at the wall, not even bothering to hide himself any longer as he stared out in what was most likely the direction that Barricade was with Bumblebee's two charges.

Optimus released his hold on Jazz and rose up. Where Bumblebee had only a few feet clearance over the fence, Optimus had a couple meters. He stood, gaze fixed on Barricade as the Decepticon maintained his ground, gun aimed causally at the human reporters with one hand, Sam and Mikaela struggling in another. Frenzy perched easily on his partner's shoulder, the Allspark shard glinting in his hold.

"Let the humans go and state your business, Decepticon!" boomed Optimus.

"You're in no position to be demanding anything, Optimus Prime. I have the humans and the Allspark, I shall be making the demands here," Barricade practically purred.

"You have the Allspark, what else do you want, bolthead?" spat Ironhide.

A series of screams went up from the corralled humans as Barricade cocked his gun and its charging whine could be heard. "I'd suggest that you tell your attack dog to stand down."

"Ironhide...do as he says."

"Blasted con, he wouldn't be so confident if he didn't have those hostages of his," growled Ironhide. But he moved back, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ratchet.

"My offer to you is simple, Optimus Prime. Your lieutenant in exchange for the safety and well-being of these humans," began Barricade. Optimus could hear the noise of outrage from both Ratchet and Ironhide behind him. Jazz remained silent. "You have nothing to hide, Prime. All we want is our leader back and we'll return your humans unharmed."

"Jazz is not Megatron."

"Not for long, Prime, not for long. So what will it be?" Barricade shrugged and shifted in his stance. "I'll give you and hour, Prime. Don't start boring me. I might have to take some entertainment." With that, the Decepticon settled back.

An hour. He had only an hour to decide the fate of the humans and that of his lieutenant. But it seemed that Jazz had already come to some sort of decision. A hand lighted firmly on Optimus's wrist guard and Jazz looked resolutely at his leader.

"Optimus, I'll go."

* * *

Author's note: Okay, school's starting up and this is the fastest I've churned out a chapter in a long while. As I said before, the story's close to its end. I'll try to update and finish up the last chatper(s) quickly and not leave you all hanging. Thanks for sticking with me this long in the ride and your comments and reviews are always appreciated greatly. May your new year be wonderful. - Darkfire 


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